Embankment Support

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to an embankment support ( 10 ), and more particularly to an embankment support ( 10 ) for the protection and stabilisation of sea embankments against wave impact and erosion. According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided an embankment support ( 10 ) comprising an anchoring portion for anchoring the support in an embankment, connecting means for allowing interlocking of the embankment support with an adjacent embankment support, and an operatively upper side connected to the anchoring portion for receiving flowing water and directing the water along the operatively upper side of the embankment support, thereby dispersing the water in a desired direction and reducing erosion of the embankment.

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

This invention relates to an embankment support, and more particularly, but not exclusively, to an embankment support for the protection and stabilisation of sea embankments against wave impact and erosion.

Embankment supports are often required to prevent excessive erosion of the natural embankment, which is primarily caused by waves during tidal movement and storms driving waves against the embankment.

The natural embankment along the shoreline commonly occurs in the form of sand dunes. Plants usually aid in protection of the sand dunes by covering the exposed surface of the sand dune and extending root systems into the sand dune, which assists in preventing erosion of the sand dune due to waves and often severe coastal winds. These plants have highly specialised root systems, and are often rare and protected plant species.

Tidal changes, flooding, storms and other severe weather occurrences such as hurricanes and typhoons often damage the natural embankment, causing the coastline to erode, and jeopardising the structural integrity of coastal structures and features, albeit man-made or naturally occurring.

Damage to the natural embankment is also caused by human interference, including smaller scale occurrences such as pedestrian trampling, construction of footpaths and off road vehicle activity. More significant factors that damage the natural embankment include the construction of roads, car parks, houses and other tourist attractions, and also the use of sand dunes for ground water extraction, the conversion of sand dunes to land for farming, forestry and waste disposal, and mining of sand from sand dunes.

Various efforts to preserve the natural embankment and the shoreline in general have been made to date, with varying degrees of success. These efforts include replanting of the natural vegetation that were damaged either by natural factors or human interference, legislative proclamations to preserve the natural embankment against human interference, and the construction of physical barriers.

A disadvantage experienced with the above measures is that it is largely aimed at limiting human influence on the natural embankment. However, the natural embankment is still susceptible to damage by natural forces, and it often takes years and even decades and significant human effort and financial resources to repair damage to the natural embankment.

A further disadvantage experienced with physical barriers aimed at protecting the coastline is that the barriers are manufactured with the view of breaking the wave force, and therefore have to be of a significant strength to combat the wave force, both during changes in tide and during storms and other natural occurrences. The effect hereof is that, due to the significant size thereof being necessitated by the physical demands placed thereon, the barriers are often unsightly features that detract from the natural beauty of the coastline. These barriers are also expensive to install, and frequently require significant excavation and expensive constructional intervention, and can cause further damage to the natural embankment and shoreline that it aims to protect.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an embankment support with which the above disadvantages could at least partially be alleviated or overcome.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided an embankment support comprising:

-   -   an anchoring portion for anchoring the support in an embankment;     -   connecting means for allowing interlocking of the embankment         support with an adjacent embankment support; and     -   an operatively upper side connected to the anchoring portion for         receiving flowing water and directing the water along the         operatively upper side of the embankment support, thereby         dispersing the water in a desired direction and reducing erosion         of the embankment.

The connection means may be a flange on one side of the embankment support that engages with a complimentary shaped receiving formation on a subsequent embankment support.

Further according to the invention, the embankment support may surround a hollow interior which may be filled with sand in use. The anchoring portion may consist of pillars located at each corner of the embankment support, with an annular base connecting the pillars at an opposite end relative to the operatively upper side. Alternatively, at least one side of the embankment support may be solid.

Still further according to the invention, the embankment support may be cubic in shape. Alternatively, the embankment support may be cuboid in shape. Further alternatively, the uppermost planar surface may be at an angle between 0° and 89° relative to the anchoring portion of the embankment support.

Yet further according to the invention, one of the sides of the embankment support may be provided with a plurality of perforations to allow water penetration through the embankment support.

Yet further according to the invention, the operatively upper side may be provided with a central aperture for allowing additional anchors to be put in place. The additional anchors may be poles being complementary in shape to the central aperture, and may be driven into the sand to assist in keeping the embankment support anchored.

A plurality of embankment supports may be interconnected to form an embankment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DIAGRAMS

The invention will now be described further by way of a non-limiting example(s) with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1: is a perspective view of an embankment support according to the invention;

FIG. 2: is a perspective view of the embankment support of FIG. 1 indicating a central aperture;

FIG. 3: is a perspective view of an alternative embankment support indicating an angled operatively upper side;

FIG. 4: is a perspective view of an alternative embankment support to the support in FIG. 3, indicating a more acutely angled operatively upper side;

FIG. 5: is a perspective view of an alternative embankment support to the support in FIGS. 3 and 4, indicating an even more acutely angled operatively upper side; and

FIG. 6: is a perspective view of a plurality of embankment supports being interconnected to form an embankment.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 6, an embankment support according to a preferred embodiment of the invention is generally designated by reference numeral 10.

As shown in FIG. 1, an embankment support 10 comprises an anchoring portion that consists of pillars 12 located at the corners of an operatively upper side 14 of the embankment support 10, the pillars 12 being connected to each other via an annular base 16 at an opposite end to the operatively upper side 14. The embankment support 10 is further provided with flange 18 being complimentary to a receiving formation 20 located at an opposite end to the flange 18, causing two or more embankment supports to be capable of interlocking with each other in a first linear arrangement. A similar flange 22 and complimentary receiving formation 24 is also shown on the remaining sides of the embankment support 10, making it possible for additional embankment supports to be connected to the embankment support in a second linear arrangement at a 90° angle to the first linear arrangement.

The operatively upper side 14 is provided with a plurality of perforations 26, the purpose of which is to allow water to flow through the operatively upper side 14 in use. The remaining sides of the embankment support are generally left open, but it is foreseen that at least one of the sides may be similarly perforated as the operatively upper side 14 (not shown). It is further also foreseen that one or more of the sides may be solid, in particular one or more sides of the embankment support that is located at the end of an embankment that is assembled when a plurality of embankment supports are interconnected (also not shown). It is even further envisaged that vertical or horisontal longitudinal supports may be provided in one or more of the sides of an embankment support (also not shown).

The embankment support 10 surrounds a hollow interior which is filled with sand in use.

FIGS. 2 to 5 show embankment supports 10.2 to 10.5. Embankment support 10.2 is the same as embankment support 10, but has central aperture 28 provided therein. An additional anchoring member 40, such as a pole, may be inserted into central aperture 28 to provide additional anchoring to the embankment support (see FIG. 6). Embankment support 10.3 is similar to embankment support 10, except that the operatively upper side 30 thereof is positioned at an angle of 11° relative to the anchoring portion of embankment support 10.3, and not at a right angle. Embankment support 10.4 is similar to embankment support 10.3, except that the angle of the operatively upper side 32 thereof relative to the anchoring portion of embankment support is 22°. Embankment support 10.5 is similar to embankment supports 10.3 and 10.4, except that the angle of the operatively upper side 34 thereof is 33° relative to the anchoring portion of embankment support 10.5. The angles of the operatively upper sides of embankment supports 10.3 to 10.5 may also be bigger or smaller than the angles indicated in this particular embodiment, and may range from 0° to 89° relative to the anchoring portion of the embankment support.

FIG. 6 shows an example of an embankment 36 constructed from a plurality of embankment supports 10 to 10.5 being interconnected with each other.

In use, the embankment supports 10 to 10.5 are filled with sand, and the sand also acts a natural grout and locking element between the interconnected embankment supports. The embankment 36 is accordingly a single unit manufactured from a plurality of individual embankment supports 10 to 10.5 being interconnected and secured by flanges 18 and 22 fitting into complementary formation 20 and 24 respectively, and also by the effect of the sand that fill the embankment supports 10 to 10.5. The sand is confined within the individual embankment supports, and the perforated operatively upper end 14 of each embankment support allows for water to flow into the embankment supports, which compacts the sand inside the embankment supports.

The main advantage associated with the moderately inclined upper side of embankment 36 is that the significant force and energy of waves moving in the direction 38 is allowed to run out its strength against gravity along the length and gradual inclination of the embankment 36, instead of having to stop or break the wave. The turbulence at the bottom of the embankment 36 is also reduced in the process. The stepped configuration of embankment 36 reduces the force of an incoming wave by dispersing the water onto level areas, and the gravitational force of a retracting wave is also dispersed by the same stepped configuration. This allows for a more natural appearing embankment, with the same structural integrity as a physical barrier. The perforated upper side of the embankment supports also allow for plants to settle on the embankment 36.

Furthermore, less than 20% of the outer surface of each embankment support 10 to 10.5 is exposed via the operatively upper side, whilst the remaining 80% of the outer surface area or more is supported by wet sand and adjacent embankment supports 10 to 10.5. This, coupled with the embankment supports 10 to 10.5 being filled with sand, causes the interconnected embankment supports 10 to 10.5 to form an embankment 36 that is set relatively solidly within the sand, whilst not obstructing the environment in the same way as a physical barrier to erosion normally does.

The sand within the embankment 36 will continue to compact and solidify with time due to the constant water logging thereof by tidal movement of water, and also during inclement weather and associated occurrences. This causes the structural integrity and strength of the embankment 36 to remain at a relatively constant level, and possibly even to increase with time.

The embankment according to the invention ultimately provides a relatively long term solution to embankment erosion, without having to construct invasive, unnatural, unsightly and expensive physical barriers, whilst promoting natural growth of vegetation, and also remaining accessible and useful for tourist activities, including swimming, fishing and walking.

It is foreseen that the application of the embankment according to the invention is not only limited to the coastline, but may also be useful in river and dam shores that are prone to be flooded, and other water ways such as tunnels and aqueducts.

It is accordingly asserted that the disadvantages associated with known embankment supports could be alleviated with the embankment supports and the interconnectivity thereof according to the invention.

In particular, the disadvantage of human influence on the natural embankment is at least partially overcome, due to the embankment according to the invention being accessible to human traffic and other activities. The compacting of the sand within the embankment 36 due to the constant water logging thereof also increases the load bearing capacity of the embankment 36, making it relatively accessible to vehicles as well.

The design of the embankment also means that the embankment according to the invention has less structural demands than a physical barrier. The reason for this is that the embankment allows the force of a wave to gradually disperse along the inclined upper side of the embankment, whereas a physical barrier must stop the wave abruptly, causing substantial construction and strength requirements, which is relatively more expensive than the embankment according to the invention. The size of physical barriers due to the structural demand thereon also causes the physical barriers to be unsightly, whereas the embankment according to the invention is substantially less unsightly due to only about 20% of it being exposed in use, and blends in with the environment by stabilising and strengthening the sand embankment. In time, when vegetation settles within the embankment according to the invention, the embankment will become even less noticeable.

The different embodiments of the embankment supports and the gradual increase and incline allows for application in a variety of locations and situations not necessarily described herein.

It will therefore be appreciated that in terms of the invention, variations in details are possible without departing from the scope of the appended claims. 

1. An embankment support comprising: an anchoring portion for anchoring the support in an embankment; connecting means for allowing interlocking of the embankment support with an adjacent embankment support; and an operatively upper side connected to the anchoring portion for receiving flowing water and directing the water along the operatively upper side of the embankment support, thereby dispersing the water in a desired direction and reducing erosion of the embankment.
 2. The embankment support according to claim 1, wherein the connection means is a flange on one side of the embankment support that engages with a complementary shaped receiving formation on a subsequent embankment support.
 3. The embankment support according to claim 1, wherein the anchoring portion consists of pillars located at each corner of the embankment support, with an annular base connecting the pillars at an opposite end relative to the operatively upper side.
 4. The embankment support according to claim 3, wherein at least one side of the embankment support is solid, or substantially solid with a plurality of perforations.
 5. The embankment support according to claim 1, wherein the embankment support surrounds a hollow interior which is filled with sand in use.
 6. The embankment support according to claim 1, wherein the embankment support is cubic or cuboid in shape.
 7. The embankment support according to claim 1, wherein the operatively upper side is disposed at an angle of between 0° and 89° relative to the anchoring portion of the embankment support.
 8. The embankment support according to claim 1, wherein the operatively upper side is provided with a central aperture for allowing additional anchors to be put in place.
 9. The embankment support according to claim 8, wherein the additional anchors are poles being complementary in shape to the central aperture, and which are operatively driven into the sand to assist in keeping the embankment support anchored in use.
 10. The embankment support according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of embankment supports may be interconnected to form an embankment. 